Saw
by StaindRedGlass
Summary: STORY 22: Jamie and McGee wake up in a Saw-like situation. With traps around every corner, they must stick together in order to survive. There's only one problem; their lives depend on the poor vision of Jamie's left eye.
1. Chapter 1

Here's the 22nd story in my series. If you haven't read the other stories, then I advise you to not proceed until you do. This is a series. It runs in sequence. To understand certain things (especially where Jamie came from), it's best to just start at the beginning. This series is kind of like my very own NCIS season 4. As of this point, the series consists of: story 1 = A Link to the Past (comes in 3 parts)… story 2 = Wrong Place, Wrong Time… story 3 = Second Job… story 4 = Daughters… story 5 = A Personal Vendetta… story 6 = Bless the Children… story 7 = Eyes of the Condemned… story 8 = Disturbing Affection… story 9 = No Man Left Behind (story that introduces Chioke; aka Kid)… story 10 = Finger Swap… story 11 = Imperfect Heist… story 12 = The Color of Skin… story 13 = Death to the Jedi… story 14 = Brotherly Love… story 15 = For the Love of a Child… story 16 = Devil's Playground… story 17 = Forced Alliance… story 18 = Firing up the Screws… story 19 = Close to Home (story that introduces Julianna)… story 20 = Last Place on Earth… story 21 = The Two of Me… story 22 = Saw (current story). Hope you enjoy it.

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**Author's Note:** From the title and story summary, I'm sure you've already concluded this story is inspired by the Saw movies. This story isn't like my other stories but there's a reason for that. It's an invaluable piece to the series as to where it goes from here.

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***Tuesday***

***Chapter 1***

There's a slight moan as Jamie wakes up lying on a cold floor. As she comes to and opens her eyes, her senses become aware of something terribly wrong. Panic immediately sets in.

Strapped to Jamie's head is a lightweight metal contraption designed to cover one eye; her right eye. She tries to get the contraption off but is unable to as it covers her head, right eye and has three metal straps; one going under the chin, one going over the bridge of the nose and across the cheek and the other around the neck. There's no way for her to push the thing off. All there is is a lock to the contraption.

With realizing a key is around her neck, she puts the key to the lock but it doesn't fit. Jamie begins to hyperventilate due to being scared. She doesn't know what happened or where she is, nor does she have any idea why she's bare foot. The last thing she remembers is walking to the bus stop after her evening class was over.

She hears a noise; a moan from another person in the room.

"Hello? Who's there?" Jamie asked as she looks around but can't see anything passed the middle section of her forearm's length. Everything is a blur to her left eye at that distance. There's no visual on the other person, nor is there an exact location or if the person is a threat or not. Nothing about the other person is known to her. "Hello?" There's no response except another moan. She breathes heavily and backs away from the direction the moan is coming from. "Who's there?" There's no response. "Answer me!"

"Jamie, is that you?" The person on the other side of the room wondered.

"Tim?" She recognized the voice but her fear was overwhelming to the point of needing reassurance.

"I… I can't see." McGee said.

"Hold on, Tim. I'm coming." She moves in the direction. "I can't see you. I need you to keep talking so I know where you are."

McGee keeps talking for her. Jamie follows the sound of his voice until she reaches him. As she approaches and once at a distance where her left eye can actually see him, she notices the same contraption on his head. The only difference between the contraptions is that both of McGee's eyes are covered. He's completely in the dark.

"What's this thing on my head?! I can't see anything!" McGee panics as he tries to push the contraption off but is unable to.

"It's no use, Tim. The thing is locked."

"What is this?! Where are we?!"

"I wish I knew."

They hear the static of a TV that turns on. It's close so Jamie can easily make out the direction of the light.

"Stay here." She said.

Jamie crawls in the direction of the light. The TV becomes clear to her left eye once she's close enough. Her heart pounds like never before. On the screen is a freaky-looking carnival puppet. The puppet's head turns to completely face forward, as if it's looking directly at her.

"Hello Jamie. I want to play a game." The puppet said in a creepy-sounding voice. "You were in a car accident at the age of eight. It claimed the life of your mother and almost claimed yours. Wounds heal. But the damage to your left eye was unable to be fixed. Since that time you've been slowly going blind in your left eye. You spend your life worrying about bumping into things on your left and looking foolish to others if it happens. You don't trust the vision of your left eye… Not completely. But it's time you start trusting that which is going to save your life. You must find the exit if you want to live. You have four hours to find the exit before the door shuts forever. As an incentive to trust your poor vision, I've added a friend into the game. Unlike you, your friend's eyes are both covered, as you may have already discovered. He will rely completely on you to get him through this safely. The only question is; can you trust the poor vision of your left eye when it's responsible not only for your life... But for that of your friend?" There's a brief pause. "Let the game begin."

The TV goes blank.

"Oh shit…" McGee said from where he's sitting. "Please don't tell me a puppet said that." He's never seen the Saw movies, but is well aware of what they're about and what occurs in them. There's no response. "Jamie?"

"It was a puppet."

"Crap…" McGee starts to hyperventilate. "Get this thing off me! I can't do this!" He panics and tries to push the contraption off his head with all his might.

"Tim…" Jamie approaches him. She gently places her hands onto McGee. "I need you to be strong. I need you to focus. Please, you need to trust me because I need to trust myself. I can't do this without you."

Jamie knows she needs to be strong for McGee, especially since both of their lives are in her hands. But deep down inside, she's scared out of her mind.

McGee finally calms down. He does trust Jamie. Though, it's hard for him to have confidence in her under the circumstances of their lives depending on her poor vision. But he tries his best to show support for his companion.

"We have to find a door." Jamie said as she stands up. "You need to take hold of me."

McGee stands up and reaches his hands out to find Jamie. A couple seconds later, Jamie feels a grab. She looks down.

"Do you seriously not know what a boob feels like?" Jamie wondered why one of his hands is groping her.

"Sorry…" McGee removes his hand from Jamie's breast. "Please don't tell Tony I did that."

"When I said take hold of me, I meant grab my hips so you can easily follow me."

"Oh, that makes sense." McGee acknowledged what she meant. His hands wander downward and place themselves onto her hips. "Can you please not tell…"

"If you mention it one more time then I will tell him." Jamie stated. There's a brief pause as she thinks. "If we ever get out of here that is…" She muttered softly to herself.

They slowly move in a direction. Once they reach the wall, Jamie feels and looks around for a door.

Jamie leads McGee all around room. They approach the only found door; the only means of escape from the room.

Jamie closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. More than anything, she would rather be somewhere else; somewhere where the life of another human being doesn't rely on her. It's bad enough to be scared out of her mind, but if McGee were to die, she would never be able to forgive herself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Jamie leads McGee out the only door to the original room they were in. McGee's shivering hands on her hips are making her nervous. Jamie tries not to think about it because he has every right to be scared. And because she knows he cannot help it.

They each notice something odd about the flooring of the hallway compared to the room them woke up in. The hallway is carpeted.

They continue to advance further and further. A loud bang echoes through the hallway causing them to jump slightly; the door to the room behind them closed and locked.

"That scared the shit out of me." McGee said.

"Me too…" Jamie agreed to the unexpectedness of the door slamming.

In the hallway, they hear a faint noise. It sounds like mechanical parts moving up ahead.

They cautiously walk in the only direction they can; forward. Jamie guides her hands along the wall and McGee follows. Suddenly, something becomes clear in Jamie's eye.

Sticking out all along the walls ahead are objects of various shapes and sizes. Jamie has no idea what they are. But the sound of mechanical parts moving is coming from within the wall.

"Why did we stop?" McGee wondered as he grips Jamie's hips.

"I think we need to move to the center of the hallway." She replied.

Jamie leads him into the middle of the hallway. They press forward. With their bare feet, each of them feels a difference in the floor again.

"The floor changed." McGee stated. He acknowledged there's no more carpet flooring; the carpet ended and is now a cold metal floor.

Finally, one of them steps on a pressure sensitive, activation piece of metal floorboard. The noise of mechanical parts moving within the walls becomes greater.

"This isn't good." McGee said.

"Tim, we need to run." She said.

"What…?"

"Run now!"

The two of them run forward; McGee keeping hold of Jamie's shirt. As they run forward, the objects sticking out of the walls thrust outward. One of the objects bashes into McGee's side with a considerable amount of force. He falls and the bottom part of Jamie's shirt rips due to him not letting go.

Jamie stops as McGee falls and her shirt rips. He lets go of her shirt halfway down to the floor. Jamie turns around to help her companion, but is quickly hit by two objects projecting outward from the wall; one hits her upper back and the other in the thigh. She falls to the floor in pain.

While on the floor, each of them shakes as they feel an electric shock coursing through their bodies. It stops after a couple seconds.

"Oww…!" McGee cried in pain from the shock and the pain in his side from the object hitting him.

"I'm sorry, Tim." Jamie said as she tries to hide her pain from him. There's a brief pause as Jamie realizes something about the floor. One of the metal floorboard pieces looks slightly odd. The odd thing about the floorboard isn't very noticeable, nor can it be felt when walking. But the floorboard isn't the same exact height as the one her body is on top of. It's only a very slight difference in height; about two or three millimeters. Jamie's hand extends to the piece. She pushes down on it, but it doesn't budge. She applies even more pressure to pushing it down.

They each receive another electric shock.

Jamie takes her hand off the floorboard piece. The shock stops. Then she realizes; the floor is pressure sensitive. The first shock stopped after she moved her body off one of the other floorboards.

"Tim, I need you to remain still while I check how many floorboards we take up." Jamie stated. McGee does as she says and she checks the amount of floorboard pieces they're on top of. After counting the amount of floorboards they consume, she looks at McGee. "I need you to lie on your back and bring your knees to your chest. Then wrap your arms around your legs to lock them in position."

"What?"

"Please, just do it. I know how to get passed this." Jamie said. "Trust me."

McGee complies by doing what Jamie asks of him.

The video camera on the ceiling zooms in on the two of them lying on the floor. It watches as the male, McGee, curls into a ball to take up less floorboard space.

From the control/observation room of the facility, a man watches as Jamie points McGee's finger in the direction she'll be moving. Then she crawls away from McGee in that direction. She crawls under all the projecting objects popping in and out of the walls.

"Huh..." The man in the control room shakes his head in surprise. "Clever girl."

Jamie reaches the carpet flooring on the other side which took three minutes to crawl the distance out of harm's way.

"Tim!" Jamie shouted. "I need you to crawl in my direction."

McGee starts to crawl in the direction Jamie went three minutes ago.

Eventually, Jamie sees McGee and grabs his hands. She pulls him onto the carpeted flooring with her. They lie there.

"You hurt?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah…" McGee answered while holding his side. "You?"

"Yes."

Both of them remain lying on the carpeted floor. The thoughts running through McGee's head are that of being scared and wishing this wasn't real. As for Jamie, the thoughts going through her head are that of having an idea who is behind this twisted game.

After a minute, Jamie stands. Her thigh and upper back both hurt a lot but she won't allow the pain to slow her down.

"Come on, we have to keep moving." Jamie said.

"I can't do this. I really can't." McGee cried.

"I know you're scared, Tim. I am too…"

"How can you be scared? You don't even show it."

"Just because I don't show it, doesn't mean I don't feel it. I'm trying to keep a clear head. We have enough to worry about." She answered. "Now let's keep moving."

Jamie helps McGee to stand. He maneuvers behind her and places his hands onto her hips. Jamie takes a deep breath. They continue down the hallway and turn a corner.

Now, a door lies in front of them. And there's only one choice; to go through it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Jamie and McGee both step through the door from the hallway. They cautiously walk forward into the new room as Jamie tries to determine whether or not there's a new threat. She uses her other senses, particularly hearing, to help in the analysis of the new room.

In the middle of the room is a stool which Jamie notices as a blur. They approach the stool. Once close enough, Jamie notices a small cassette player with a sign that reads; play me. She knows this cassette player is a bad sign. Something major is about to happen.

Jamie takes a deep breath, reaches down and grabs the cassette player. She presses the play button. The recording starts to play.

"There's a key around your neck. It opens two locks in this place. But it's weak to the point where once it's used one time, it breaks. Not too far away is the first of two major tests." The voice of the creepy-sounding carnival puppet started. "There are two other people in this place. Both of which you know. One of which you'll see very soon; the doctor who saved your life when you were eight years old. Your choice is simple. Use the key to save his life to repay him for saving yours… Or take the time to find the extra key within a pile of keys. Either way, his life depends on you." There's a brief pause. "The doctor is trapped in a water tank with several closed off tubes connecting to it. There are several blockades in each tube that will open one by one every twenty seconds; allowing what's inside to advance. Each tube contains a food-deprived piranha." The creepy puppet voice continued. "If you use or find the key and put it in the lock, the water will drain and blockades will remain closed. You can choose to use the key its one time to save the doctor or wait to use the key to save the person you'll eventually see later. But you should know the other person is someone close to you." There's another brief pause. "For this choice, I've given you an extra key. For the second… There is no choice, there is no extra key and you'll be completely on your own in trying to figure out how to save the person. There's only one question you have to ask yourself… If you use the key now, what kind of twisted device will the person close to you need to be saved from? The choice is yours."

The recording stops.

A storm of thoughts about which person close to her could be the second victim, floods Jamie's mind. Worry overwhelms her as the person close to her could be one of the following; her father Jethro, her husband Tony, her son Chioke or her best friends Maddie or Abby.

"Jamie…? Are you alright?" McGee wondered why they aren't doing anything as they just stand there.

"Sorry…" She apologized as she shook herself out of a daze. "I spaced out for a minute."

Jamie leads McGee further into the room. A light at the end of the room becomes brighter and clearer as she approaches the water tank. With her face almost pressing against the thick glass of the tank, she sees the doctor trapped inside.

The doctor's eyes are covered with a contraption resembling the one on McGee's head. Chains keep the doctor in place, in the middle of the water tank. There's a hole at the top of the tank which allows a tube to connect from the doctor's mouth to an oxygen tank.

"I need you to stay right here." Jamie said.

"Alright…" He said.

Jamie maneuvers to the side in order to examine the water tank. On the side she's at, she sees a couple tubes that connect to the water tank. She follows one tube and counts the amount of blockades inside. She does the same for another tube. Both of them have the same amount of blockades; nine. In doing the math, once the timer starts, she'll have one hundred and eighty seconds (three minutes) to find the correct key among the pile.

"How many blockades are there?" McGee wondered.

"Nine." Jamie replied. "I have three minutes to find the extra key."

A red light starts blinking nearby; indicating the timer is about to start.

Jamie kneels down where the blinking red light is. In front of her is a clear box with a darkened, closed off box above it. Directly next to the box is a control panel where a key can fit; saving the doctor. She takes a deep breath in preparation to find the correct key.

A buzzer sounds and the bottom to the darkened box opens. Keys fall into the clear box creating a large pile. The timer starts counting down. Jamie reaches in. The length of the reach makes the further end of the pile blurry to her.

Jamie pushes the keys around in the search for a resemblance to the key around her key. Unfortunately, half the keys resemble it. She grabs one and tries it in the lock. It doesn't budge. Jamie tosses the key and grabs another.

The first blockade inside each tube opens letting the piranhas be one step closer to a food search; the doctor. The piranhas swim eagerly inside the tube for the next blockade to open.

Time continues to pass. Jamie continues trying keys and tossing them to the side afterward. The blockades inside the tubes continue to open. And the piranhas continue to advance closer and closer.

The pressure to save the man who saved her life so long ago is overwhelming to Jamie. But she tries to remain calm and rushes to find the extra key before time runs out.

"You need to hurry." McGee said as he blindly approaches reaching his hands out for anything. "Time is running out."

"I know, I know." Jamie said anxiously with only three unopened blockades left. She tries another key. It doesn't budge. She tosses it to the side.

"Just use the key around your neck."

"I can find it. I know I can." She said as she tries another but ends up tossing it.

Another blockade opens, leaving two remaining before the piranhas have their feast.

"You have thirty seconds!" McGee said. "Use the key!"

"You're not helping! Shut up so I can concentrate!" Jamie barked stubbornly. She tries another key but it doesn't work.

The second to last blockade opens, leaving Jamie with twenty seconds before the piranhas are able to get inside the water tank.

Jamie notices the piranha swimming near the last blockade of the tube in front of the darkened key box. It's an enormous amount of twenty second pressure on her to find the extra key.

She quickly tries another and another.

"Come on. You have to hurry." McGee yelled. "Ten… Nine… Eight…" He begins counting down.

"Stop it!" Jamie barked as she tries yet another key. "I can do this." She whimpered.

As Jamie tries another key, she watches as the final blockade opens. The piranha swims into the water tank as do the other piranhas.

"Time's up…" McGee said.

Jamie's breathing becomes heavier due to the pressure. She tries and tries again in the hopes the next key will be the correct key.

The doctor's blood slowly disperses in the water as the piranhas feast on his body.

"Shit…" Jamie said as she tosses another key.

"Jamie…?" McGee places his hand on her shoulder as a gesture that it's time to quit. He feels the tension of her shoulder muscle. "Jamie, you need to stop."

"I can't." Jamie cried. "I have to find it." She tries another key and like all the others, it does nothing.

At this point, the water inside the tank is almost completely stained red. But Jamie doesn't give up.

Time passes.

"Jamie, let it go." McGee said after two minutes of the piranhas feeding on the doctor.

Jamie tries a key. It does nothing. She cries, tosses the key and pounds on the tank with her fist.

"You son-of-a-bitch!" Jamie shouted into the air. She grabs a handful of keys and throws them to the side.

In the control room, the man watches and listens as Jamie curses him out. The reaction of her fowl, threatening language is unexpected.

"I don't remember her being this feisty." The man muttered softly to himself in recalling the past.

Jamie swats McGee's hand away from her. She stands up and walks to the side. Jamie starts wheezing. Finally, she bends over slightly and vomit spews from her mouth.

McGee remains where he is as he doesn't really know what to do; leave her alone or try to comfort her. He doubts either would help.

Jamie falls to the floor and cries over her failure to save the doctor. The only reason she's alive is because of that doctor. All the other doctors gave up on her. It was him who never did. She owed the doctor her life. Now, Jamie doubts herself on the choice she made about not using the key.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Gibbs, who is already mounting a search for his missing daughter, makes a side trip before heading to NCIS Headquarters. The side trip is to an apartment building to visit one of the most obvious people who may know where Jamie is.

There's a knock on the door. After a couple seconds, the door begins to open.

Once there's enough space and the target is in view, Gibbs thrusts his fist forward into his brother's face. Jared stumbles backward and Gibbs intrudes into the apartment.

Jethro decks him again. Then he grabs Jared and slams him into the wall.

"It's good to see you too, brother." Jared said while lying on the floor spitting blood from his mouth.

"Where's Jamie?!" Jethro demanded to know.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Wrong answer."

Jethro kicks Jared in the gut. He quickly leans down, presses his knee into Jared's back and grabs one of his arms. Jethro locks a submission hold in place.

Jared laughs as he chokes slightly.

"Where's my daughter?!" Jethro barked.

"She's missing?" Jared wondered as he really has no idea what his brother is talking about.

"Don't pull this shit with me!" Gibbs exclaimed. "If you want to make my life a living hell due to blaming me for our abusive father…"

"Everything was fine until you were born!" Jared yelled.

"His behavior wasn't my fault!"

"Yes it was!" Jared exclaimed. "You ruined my life!"

"And you're trying to ruin mine by kidnapping my daughter!"

"I only just found out she's missing when you said it." Jared said. "I blame you for everything. I want to kill you. I want to see the life drain from your body. And I would use anyone and anything to make it happen. There's no question about it. But the only person I'd never use against you is Jamie."

Jethro lets the hold over his brother go as he can tell Jared is telling the truth. He sits down on the floor and thinks maybe Geoffrey Benson kidnapped her.

Jared sits up and leans against the wall. The brothers are now sitting face to face just a couple feet apart.

"Why would you never use my daughter against me?" Jethro wondered as it doesn't make sense.

"Because she's the only person I've never fantasized about killing." Jared replied.

From the look in Jared's eyes and his demeanor, Jethro could tell he's being truthful. Jethro has always had a difficult time reading his brother. But this is the first time he's been able to read him with no problem. It's at this point he knew; Jared would never hurt Jamie. He doesn't understand why, but it's true.

Jethro stands up. He walks to the door.

"Jethro…" Jared tries to get his attention. His brother turns around and looks at him sitting against the wall. Jared looks directly into his brother's eyes. "I may hate your guts, blame you for everything and wish you to be dead… But for what it's worth, I hope you find her."

Jethro exits from his brother's apartment. Jared remains sitting against the wall for a couple minutes before making a decision as to pay a little visit to Geoffrey Benson.

Not too long after finding out Jamie is missing, Jared drives by the mansion of Geoffrey Benson. Instead of driving in to have a little chat with his so-called employer, he drives down the street a ways. Jared walks to the mansion on foot due to seeing his brother's car is already in the driveway. He's obviously not the only person to think Geoffrey Benson may have something to do with Jamie's disappearance.

Jared enters into the mansion through the backdoor. He stands idly by the second door to Benson's office and listens to the conversation inside. Finally, his brother leaves the office and the mansion altogether.

"Sounds like you had a pleasant conversation, Geoffrey." Jared said as he enters into the office and makes his way to the chair in order to sit. "Though, I don't think he believed you when you said you have no idea where his daughter is."

"I don't care if he believes me or not." Mr. Benson said as he sits at his desk doing paperwork. "It's not like he'll ever find her."

"You do realize this wasn't part of our deal?"

"Deals change."

"That they do." Jared said. There's a brief moment of silence as he fantasizes about killing Mr. Benson. "I overheard my brother mention your son Shawn was broken out of FBI custody yesterday. He suspects Shawn has something to do with it."

"I had nothing to do with my son's escape."

"Denial is nothing more than a fool's excuse."

"Is there something you want?"

"How am I supposed to use Jamie to get to my brother if she's dead?"

"She'll be returned to him." Mr. Benson stated. "The deadly traps are temporarily disabled. She'll survive."

With that, Jared knows where Jamie is located.

"If anything, it'll help you better use her." Mr. Benson said.

"Oh sure… If she doesn't think I'm responsible for it." Jared said.

"You have an iron-clad alibi for the hour of her disappearance. So you're in the clear." Mr. Benson stated. "Your brother has a suspicion that you work for me, I know. Whether or not your brother believes you're telling the truth about not knowing anything, he'll still check into your alibi. Your alibi is already set. And there's no evidence to tie this to me. So there's no reason for Jamie not to believe you. The situation should help you get even closer to her."

The two of them chat for a couple more minutes before Jared leaves.

In the control room of the facility where Jamie and McGee are, the man, Shawn Benson, watches as the two of them walk down a hallway.

"Screw this." Shawn said.

He unlocks a flap where a button is located. The button can be turned to enable or disable the more deadly traps. His father's orders were to hurt them, not to kill them. Shawn holds his thumb to the button. The thoughts running through his head are that of how stubborn Jamie was during the bank robbery a while back.

"No one stands up to me and gets away with it." He said.

Shawn finally presses the button after a couple seconds of thinking.

A red light flickers on the main switchboard. Every single trap, even the deadly ones which can kill Jamie and McGee, are now enabled. Shawn doesn't plan on letting them leave alive.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Jamie leads McGee down a corridor before suddenly stopping. In the middle of a small section is a stool with a cassette player that has a sign on it which reads; play me.

"Why did we stop?" McGee wondered.

"It's another cassette player." Jamie responded.

"Oh no…" McGee starts to hyperventilate because the track record with the recordings isn't good. It usually indicates something bad.

Jamie picks up the cassette player and presses down on the play button. The recording begins to play, and once again, it's the voice of the creepy carnival puppet.

"In life we come to a crossroad with two paths." The puppet begins to say. "In order to proceed in life, we must choose a path to go down. Some paths are more complicated than others. Some paths may be completely wrong. But we always have a choice. Your choice is a simple one. To your left is a path. To your right is a path. Both paths lead to the same exact place. The only difference between these two paths is their length and the fact that one of them is free of traps. You must choose your path. But choose wisely as the wrong path can prove to be fatal. The choice is yours."

The recording ends.

"Tim…" Jamie tries to grab his attention. She's so overwhelmed by the decision at hand that she doesn't want to make it alone.

"Yeah…?"

"Left or right?"

"You're asking me?! I'm the one who can't see. You pick."

"I'm not the only one here, Tim. You have a say in all this."

"I trust you, Jamie. Just pick a path."

"Please, Tim! Just tell me which way you want to go… Left or right?"

"Left…" McGee said hesitantly. With feeling Jamie move slightly, McGee has doubts. "I mean right."

"Come on, Tim. Give me an answer I can…"

"Right." McGee stated. "No wait…"

"Tim!"

"I don't know. You choose."

Jamie makes her choice; the path to the right. McGee follows Jamie with his hands holding onto her hips.

Jamie approaches the doorway. The path is dark.

"I have an idea." Jamie stated. "Since one path is trap free, I can go ahead a ways down this path while you wait here. If I come across a trap, I'll return and we'll go down the other path."

"Good plan." McGee agreed.

Jamie leads McGee to the stool. He sits down.

"Be careful." McGee said in concern for his companion, who also happens to be his only chance of survival.

"I will." She said. "You just stay here. And don't move from this spot."

Jamie walks to the path at the right and enters into the darkness. After taking a couple steps down the path, a door slams shut. The only light from the room she left is cut off.

Jamie runs to the closed door behind her. Her heart races like never before.

"Tim!" Jamie pounds on the door.

"Jamie!" McGee, who is on the other side of the door, tries to open it. "I can't open it."

"Feel around for a lever, button or anything that might open the door."

"Okay."

Both Jamie and McGee search the area around their side of the door in the hopes of finding something that opens it. The search for a door opener is unsuccessful for each of them.

"I can't find anything over here!" McGee exclaimed. "Oh my God…" He feels like he's going to faint. "I feel lightheaded." McGee knows he's alone and his fear consumes him.

For McGee, even though he's blinded by the contraption on his head, he feels the room spin. The disorientation causes him to drop to the floor.

Jamie hears a thump come from the other side of the door. The concern for her companion, who is also her responsibility, causes her heartbeat to drastically increase.

"Tim!" Jamie yelled as she pounds on the door.

There's no response.

Jamie breathes heavily, turns around and looks into the darkness of her chosen path. The thought of McGee losing his life because she didn't bring him with her is unbearable. McGee's alone and unable to see his surroundings. He's completely dependant on her. And they're both cutoff from each other. The only way to reach McGee is to go down the dark path and wrap around from the other side of the left path. But for now, Jamie is alone and has no choice in the matter. There's nothing else she can do. In order to save McGee, she must bear whatever her path has in store for her. And since McGee's life depends on her, death isn't an option.

Minutes later, McGee comes to. He moans slightly as he wakes up on the cold floor. His eyes open only to see the darkness the contraption on his head allows.

"Jamie!" McGee shouted.

McGee sits up and feels around. His hands touch the door and he once again tries to open it.

"Jamie!" He yelled in fear.

There's no response.

"Answer me, please. Jamie?!" He pounds on the door as he panics.

McGee fears Jamie might be hurt or in trouble on the other side of the door. The fear of being alone clouds his judgment. And with not thinking logically about the situation in regard to what Jamie would do, he makes a snap decision.

"I'm coming Jamie! Hold on."

McGee makes his way to the path on the left. With only being able to feel his way around, he enters into the pathway.

Seconds later, the door shuts behind him.

McGee places his hand against the wall and advances. Though he's alone and his fear is through the roof, McGee believes he must find Jamie as she might be hurt or in trouble. It's the only reason he can think of as to why Jamie didn't respond.

Both Jamie and McGee are on a mission down their paths. Both have the other in mind. Both are scared. Both are alone. But they both have hope; the hope in finding the other. It's that hope which drives them down their paths. The separation between them is a challenge, especially for McGee who cannot see. Jamie needs McGee as much as McGee needs Jamie. Finding each other is the only hope either of them has because that's all they have, each other.

The problem with walking down separate paths is the fact that one of them is walking into disaster. The only question is; which one?


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **I apologize for the delay in chapter posting lately. I've been kind of distracted with things as of late.

--

**Chapter 6**

After walking cautiously down her path for quite some time, Jamie runs the rest of the way. Enough time has been wasted down a path which, thus far, is clear of traps. Reaching McGee is her only concern as he must be scared out of his mind being alone.

Jamie exits from the pathway upon reaching the end. It's clear to her that the left path is the one that holds the traps. As she walks to the exit of the left path, she hopes going through from the opposite side won't be a problem.

She enters into the pathway. Within seconds, her foot hits a large object on the floor. Jamie kneels down in order to get a better look at the object. Her left eye widens at what she sees.

"Tim!" Jamie places her hands on him in order to determine if the bloodily bruised mess her eyes behold is alive or not. Her fingers pressing gently against his neck feel a pulse. The relief of McGee being alive satisfies her anxiety. Though, she's still very worried and concerned about the bad shape her companion is in.

McGee moans slightly while he's face down on the floor.

"Hold on, Tim." Jamie gently turns him over. She notices a large gash on his arm which needs immediate attention. Jamie takes hold of the ripped part of her shirt that torn when McGee fell before. She tears it off and quickly wraps it around McGee's wound. After tying the cloth tightly, she closely examines the rest of her companion for any life threatening wounds. The amount of blood, cuts, scrapes and bruising on McGee's body is abundant from what's visible.

While examining McGee, she realizes his chest is no longer moving. He's not breathing. Jamie quickly gets into position to perform CPR.

Jamie places her lips to McGee's and breathes into his mouth. After the second breath, she places her hands to his chest and presses down a couple times.

"Come on, Tim. Wake up." Jamie said as her worry increases. She places her lips to his and breathes again.

McGee comes to and coughs slightly.

"I know I'm irresistible, but you're married." McGee said jokingly as he doesn't want to admit to his fear or how much pain he's in. Jamie chuckles a bit. "Please don't tell Tony you kissed me."

"There's nothing to tell because nothing happened." Jamie said in order to comfort McGee's insecurity. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." McGee replied while lying there on the floor.

"I told you to stay put." Jamie cried as she looks at her companion's hurt body. "Why did you move? You shouldn't have moved from that spot!"

"I called for you but you never answered me. I thought something might have happened to you." McGee sniffled. "You weren't there. I got scared." He wipes his nose. "I was alone." He whimpered.

Jamie scoots in closer and guides McGee to her. McGee's back lies against Jamie's chest as she tries to comfort him.

"I want to go home." McGee cried in her arms.

"I know, Tim. I know." Jamie said. "I do too."

While holding McGee in her arms, Jamie feels him shivering controllably. The man is scared out of his mind. Jamie knows she has to be more careful because McGee might not be so lucky next time. The large gash, numerous cuts, bleeding, bruising and burn on his side are all evidence to Jamie that she's failing. It breaks her heart to see McGee hurt this much because of her shortcomings.

The two of them rest for a couple minutes.

"We really need to keep moving." Jamie said. "Time is running out."

"Alright…" McGee agreed, even though he doesn't want to. He would rather stay put as he's on the verge of giving up hope.

Jamie stands. McGee struggles to get up due to his abundant injuries so Jamie helps him.

They walk down the corridor away from the two paths.

Even though McGee is unable to see and needs Jamie to guide him, he knows they're walking away from the path. He feels a certain degree of anxious fear decrease with each step. The comfort level of not being alone is enough to calm him for now. Though, what happened on the path when he was alone is something he'll never speak of. This whole experience thus far is causing a flow of thoughts he never expected to cross his mind; reevaluating life.

As they walk further and further, Jamie's heightened sense of hearing hears something peculiar. With her ears perk up, they stop moving. The sound is strange. She doesn't quite know what it is but Jamie's sure it's a sound she's heard before.

Then it hits her; Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The scene where Indy and Willie were walking into a dark tunnel before figuring out they entered into an insect den.

"No matter what happens, keep hold of me, Tim." Jamie said softly.

"Wait, why? What is it?" McGee asked in concern.

"Run!"

Jamie and McGee run. Thousands of different types of blood-thirsty nocturnal insects crawl out from every hole in the cavernous walls. As they run through the cavernous area, their bare feet stomp on the creepy creatures below.

Some of the insects leap onto them from the walls. The creepiness of the little legs crawling on him forces McGee to let go of Jamie.

"Ahh!" McGee cried as he swats the insects off.

The insects from the floor start crawling up their legs.

"Dammit Tim!" Jamie yelled. "Forget the bugs. Let's go!"

Jamie grabs McGee and pulls him to follow her. The two of them continue down the cavernous area while the creepy insects continue leaping on and biting them.

After a minute, they exit from the darkened cavernous area. The blood-thirsty nocturnal insects quickly give up and retreat into the darkness of their lair. Jamie and McGee stand a couple feet away and swat off the insects from themselves. As for the insects McGee is unable to reach or know are there, Jamie swats them off for him.

"This is disgusting." McGee said over what's on his feet. "It feels so weird and slimy."

"That wasn't much of a trap." Jamie stated. "I think it was just a gross out a tactic."

"It worked. I'm completely grossed out."

Like McGee, Jamie is completely grossed out by what they just went through and what's on their feet. Under normal circumstances, she would react like any other female to an abundance of creepy little creatures. But staying strong for McGee is what he needs, especially since she knows he's slowly losing hope. Besides, if she loses it then they don't stand a chance at survival.

Jamie guides McGee to the wall. They each wipe their feet against the walls in order to get off as much of the slimy insect guts as possible.

Eventually, the two of them continue walking until the only place they can go is through a door. Jamie takes a deep breath and opens it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Jamie and McGee enter into the new room with less than two hours left to find the exit. The pressure is on and Jamie knows it. But this new room has something different about it. A familiar scent lingers in the air. Jamie knows who the second person is that she has to save. Unlike last time, this time should prove to be easy since the key around her neck hasn't been used yet. She still feels horrible over the death of the doctor though. It's a horrid feeling that will haunt her for the rest of her life.

The two of them walk further into the room. Eventually, something starts coming into view to Jamie's left eye. She's unable to tell what exactly it is due to it not being within range of clearly seeing it. But Jamie knows something is there and who is there.

They approach a bed. Lying on the bed is Maddie Tyler, Jamie's childhood friend who she only just recently been back in contact with. The same contraption that's prohibiting McGee from seeing is also on Maddie's head. But what concerns Jamie is the weird netting lying on top of her friend.

"What the hell…" Jamie said in confusion as to what kind of trap this is. "Stay right here."

"Alright." McGee complies with the order, lets go of Jamie and stands still next to the bed.

Jamie begins to carefully examine the bed and netting. She's careful to not disturb anything as the disturbance can trigger whatever's going to happen. Being prepared is the best strategy in her mind.

As time passes, the whole situation makes absolutely no sense to her. The game is about choices. Choices such as; choosing to use the key to save the doctor or saving it to save Maddie... Choosing the left or right path…. And now this. But there doesn't seem to be a choice here as there's no indication of one.

Jamie keeps examining the bed Maddie is lying on and the netting lying on top of her. Not even one strand of the net is wrapped around her. And there's no lock that she can find. The odd thing is Maddie isn't even chained to the bed.

"This doesn't make sense." Jamie stated softly.

"What doesn't make sense?" He asked.

Jamie continues searching and actually hoping to find a lock. The thoughts about the doctor invade her mind. If there's no lock here, then the key that can only be used once could've been used to save him. It's causing major anxiety for Jamie with not finding a lock.

"Jamie…" McGee tries to get her attention as she never answered the question.

"Yeah, I… I heard you." She said. "It's my friend Maddie. She's lying on the bed, probably unconscious. And has the same contraption on her head as you do."

"I don't get why this doesn't make sense."

"There's no lock. She's not even bound to the bed in any way…" Jamie starts to answer him. "But there's this weird netting lying on top of her. And it doesn't wrap around her at all."

"Remove it."

"Tim, this game seems to be about choices. There's no choice here. Until I can determine what the hell this is, I'm certainly not going to disturb it."

"Maybe it's to only make you think something is going to happen."

"True. But I want to be sure about before I do anything."

"We're obviously wasting time here." McGee reaches forward in order to remove the netting.

"Tim wait!" Jamie yelled.

McGee's left hand reaches down toward the bed. He grabs the netting. Every rope connecting the netting to the ceiling quickly retracts with a considerable amount of force. The netting flies into the air, along with McGee's left arm as the ropes trapped him there.

"AAGGHH!!" McGee screamed as the force and height of the retracted netting dislocates his shoulder.

"Aaahh!" Maddie wakes up due the loud scream. She immediately becomes scared as she cannot see anything and slips off the bed.

"Maddie…" Jamie tries to get her attention. She places her hand on Maddie to calm her down.

With still feeling the affects of being doped and unaware, Maddie panics. She screams and kicks her leg out toward the person. Jamie falls to the floor.

Maddie crawls away. When she reaches the wall, she stands up. Maddie places her hand against the wall and use it to guide herself away from the area.

"Maddie wait!" Jamie exclaimed as she could no longer see her friend.

"Agh!" McGee yelled as the netting is now being pulled upward. "Jamie! Help! I can't get my arm loose!"

Jamie turns around and looks in the direction of the bed. Then she turns her head to look in the last known direction Maddie went off in.

One friend is in immediate danger. And another friend will soon be if Jamie doesn't find her. She realizes this is the choice and one has to be made quickly.

Jamie runs to the bed. At this point, McGee is standing on top of the bed while the netting keeps retracting upward, slowly pulling at his arm.

"Jamie!" McGee cried.

"I'm here." Jamie said as she steps onto the bed.

The netting is too high for her to reach and see clearly, so she steps toward the headboard. Jamie places one hand on the netting and uses it to balance herself while stepping onto the headboard. Now, the netting is directly in front of her.

Jamie tries to untangle McGee's arm from the web of netting holding him. The netting keeps retracting upward, pulling McGee's arm more and more.

"Try to pull your arm loose." Jamie said as she holds some of the strands away from her companion's arm.

"It's not working." McGee said as his arm only budged an inch. The fear of his arm being ripped out scares him into hyperventilation. McGee panics and tugs his arm as hard as he can. "Oww!" He cried. Even though it's painful due to the dislocated shoulder, he continues tugging.

"Tim, you have to stop!" Jamie shouted.

With McGee tugging, there's no way Jamie can continue trying to get his arm released. A thought about the game crosses her mind. When she thought there was no choice, there was. Since there was a choice, there has to be a lock somewhere. The only place Jamie can think of that a lock would be is up.

Jamie grabs the netting with both hands. Her feet gently swing off the headboard as she begins to climb the netting.

"Jamie!" McGee cried for help as he keeps tugging.

"Locate the headboard and stand on it!" Jamie yelled.

While McGee climbs onto the headboard, Jamie finds the thickest rope connected to the netting. It's the only rope that's a different size. Jamie grabs the rope and starts to climb it. She uses her feet as a clamp the rope while going up.

As Jamie climbs, McGee continues to struggle trying to get his arm free from the netting. And the netting continues to be retracted up toward the ceiling.

McGee's arm rises well above his head. The pain of the dislocated shoulder is bad enough, but he becomes hysterical as he feels a tug. McGee cannot gain anymore height to buy time. He's seconds away from his body weight causing his arm to tear off.

"Jamie hurry!" McGee yelled.

Jamie reaches a lock. She frantically takes the key from around her neck and rushes it toward the lock.

McGee looses his balance. He falls forward.

As McGee falls, so does everything else. McGee, Jamie and the netting all plummet to the bed.

Minutes later, Jamie comes to. The amount of pain she feels after falling from the height she was at is enormous. She knows the bed broke her fall, but the fall broke the bed.

Jamie takes a quick look around. To the side of the bed is McGee lying on the floor. He's a blur to her vision, but she can tell it's him. Jamie pushes the headboard off of her.

Blood trickles down Jamie's face and she thinks she may be suffering from a concussion. It feels like a ping pong ball is being batted around inside her head. She stands up but quickly stumbles from dizziness and soreness. While kneeling on top of the broken bed, she realizes a head wound isn't the only non-minor wound she acquired from the fall. She grabs the small piece of metal sticking out of her abdomen.

"Aahh!" Jamie cried as she pulls the object out of her.

Jamie approaches McGee while blood drips from her abdomen wound. The relief of McGee's arm being intact lifts a heavy weight from her shoulders.

McGee moans in pain.

"I have to pop your shoulder back in." Jamie stated as she gets into position. "It's going to hurt." She grabs McGee's left arm. She places one foot below his armpit and the other foot at the base of his neck. Jamie pulls hard.

"AAGGHH!!" McGee cried in pain as his arm pops back into place in the shoulder socket.

"Come on, Tim…" Jamie said as she stands up and gently grabs McGee. "I know you're in a lot of pain but we have to move. We have to find Maddie before she gets hurt."

McGee stands. The pain in his left arm and shoulder is too much to try moving it. So McGee only grabs Jamie's hip with his right hand.

Jamie walks and McGee follows. While walking, Jamie finally applies pressure to her abdomen wound.

Both of them are hurting. McGee's pain is much more severe though, especially after what happened to him on the path not too long ago. But the pain each of them feels cannot hinder them finding Maddie. The search for Maddie is the top priority for both of them at this point.


	8. Chapter 8

***Chapter 8***

Jamie and McGee head in the last known direction Maddie was seen. The two of them yell for her as they advance further in their search. Jamie's anxiety grows more and more with each second there's no response from her friend.

"Maddie!!!" Jamie yelled.

They continue walking.

By the sounds of pain McGee is making, Jamie can tell she's pushing him too hard. She doesn't want to push him more than what his body can handle, but there's really no choice. The last time they were separated almost killed him. Jamie refuses to make the same mistake twice.

"I need to rest." McGee whined from exhaustion, soreness and pain.

"We can't. We have to find Maddie." Jamie said. "Once we find her, then we can rest."

Not too far away, Maddie stumbles into a barbed wire. She quickly gets tangled up within the wire. With every panicking movement, the wire cuts her and she gets more tangled up. Maddie tries to untangle herself from the mess, but not being able to see is hindering her from being able to do so.

Maddie hears a familiar voice yelling. The recognition of the voice being her best friend is a relief.

"Jamie, help! I'm over here!" Maddie shouted.

Within a minute, Jamie and McGee enter into the vicinity.

"Jamie…?" Maddie said as she hears someone approaching.

"Yeah, it's me." Jamie said.

"Oh, thank God." Maddie cried. "What the hell is this?"

"I don't know." Jamie replied. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm stuck in barbed wire." Maddie answered.

"Tim, sit down and rest while I get her out of the barbed wire."

"Okay." McGee sits down on the cold floor.

Jamie kneels down and tries to untangle her friend from the mess created by her initial panicking.

Suddenly, they hear the sound of some mechanism to the side. Jamie sees the barbed wire slowly retracting. With Maddie stuck in the barbed wire and it now retracting, it'll become tighter and tighter around her. Jamie knows she has to stop it.

"What's going on?!" Maddie cried.

"Try to remain calm." Jamie said. "I won't leave you, okay."

Jamie quickly crawls to the side where the mechanism noise is coming from. It's a turn wheel with handles that's retracting the barbed wire. She tries to stop it with her hands, but the mechanism is too strong.

Another idea pops into Jamie's head.

"Tim, I need you over here." Jamie said.

"How can I help?" McGee said as he crawls in her general direction.

"I need you to lie down."

Jamie guides McGee to lying down in the position she needs him to lie.

"This might hurt a little." Jamie said.

"Wait, what might…" McGee begins to say but Jamie stuffs his head between the floor and one of the handles to the turn wheel. The handle clashes onto the metal contraption on his head, hindering the turn wheel from moving. "Owww…"

The retraction of the barbed wire is fully halted due to Jamie's quick thinking. Now, Jamie can take all the time she needs to get Maddie out.

"Tony would have a field day if he saw this." McGee stated in embarrassment while his head is the stop-block for the turn wheel.

"He'd say; Now that's using your head, Probie!" Jamie imitated her husband while trying to untangle her friend from the mess of barbed wire. "Then of course he'd say; This reminds of the movie…"

"Please don't start." McGee pleaded for her to spare them a movie reference.

A couple minutes later, Maddie is completely untangled from the mess of barbed wire. Then Jamie pulls McGee's head out from between the floor and the turn wheel handle.

The relief of finding Maddie lifts a humongous weight from Jamie's shoulders. Now, there's an added problem to this game. Jamie's not only responsible for her life and McGee's, but now Maddie's. It's an enormous amount of pressure for her to process and handle. But she does her best to remain calm and be strong for her companions.

The three of them move from the area, careful of any and all barbed wire left in the room.

They enter into a new corridor which leads them to a wide open area. Jamie guides them along the wall.

They hear a swoosh sound, followed by a single pound.

"What was that?" Maddie asked.

"I have no i…" Jamie begins to say before noticing a blur of something a couple feet in front of her. They take a couple steps. The object comes into view for her. "Oh no…"

Another arrow shoots from the other side of the wide open area. The arrow penetrates into McGee's thigh.

"AGH!!!" McGee cried in pain as he drops to the floor.

More arrows launch. One arrow penetrates into Maddie's lower back. She also drops to the floor in pain.

An arrow penetrates into Jamie's right forearm and into the wall, pinning her to it. A second arrow penetrates into her left side, luckily not hitting any internal organs. Blood flows from each wound and the pain is almost unbearable.

The barrage of arrows stops.

Jamie grabs the arrow in her forearm and rips it from the wall, releasing her from it. She leaves the arrow in her arm for the time being and kneels down to check on the other.

"Agh!" Jamie cried in pain as she rips her left sleeve from her shirt. With her left hand, she breaks the back end of the arrow in her arm. Then she shoves the arrow through. "Aaahh!" Jamie pulls it out on the other side. As blood flows out, Jamie wraps the sleeve around her arm. She uses her teeth and left hand to tighten it.

Jamie breaks the back end of the arrow that's in her side. The arrow didn't penetrate through the other side, so she leaves the broken arrow inside of her. Besides, trying to remove it would cause more damage.

After patching herself up, Jamie checks on the others and tries to patch them up as best she can.

Meanwhile, on an old dirt road roughly fifteen miles away, a car races through the darkness. The dirt road is a forgotten back road that leads directly to the facility. Jamie and the others are on the verge of being rescued from the torturous hell they're in. And the game will be over.


	9. Chapter 9

***Chapter 9***

In the control/observation room of the facility, Shawn Benson watches the monitor in excitement. Jamie and the others have been quite lucky thus far, particularly because of Jamie's quick thinking. But they finally made wrong turn into an area in which there's no escape. Shawn is pleased by their entrance into the fatal area.

Inside the area where Jamie and the others are, one side of the floor quickly moves upward. The three of them are tossed to the other side of the room.

Their already bloody bodies hit the pressure sensitive panels on the wall. Jaw-like traps are triggered and wrap around certain parts of their bodies; hands, arms, legs. All three of them are pinned and unable to break free from the jaw-like traps.

"I'm stuck!" Maddie yelled.

"Too me." McGee said. "What is this?"

"I don't know." Jamie said.

Suddenly, they hear the sounds of a couple buzz saws. Jamie notices grooves along the wall. Then it hits her; an unbelievable amount of fear. The grooves run alongside the jaw-like traps which are holding them in place against the wall. And there's no way for them to stop the saws.

A door busts open in the control/observation room. Shawn jumps slightly and looks back.

"Oh, it's you." Shawn is relieved at the sight of Jared Lucas Gibbs; his father's partner in revenge against Gibbs. "You're just in time for the best part." He looks back to the monitor.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world." Jared said as he approaches.

Jared grabs Shawn's head and slams it into one of the other monitors. Shawn falls to the floor with a large gash on his head. Jared pushes the button to disable all traps. The buzz saws turn off.

"What the fuck is your problem?!" Shawn yelled as he lies on the floor with blood dripping from his head.

"I'm not too thrilled about you giving my facility its first test run." Jared said. "But doing so with my niece is the biggest mistake of your life."

"Alright, so I enabled the more deadly and hurtful traps. Sue me." Shawn chuckled as he stands. "We'll disable the heavy stuff. It's no big deal." He reaches to the control panel.

Jared grabs his wrist to stop him from touching anything. He tightens his grip and glares angrily at Shawn.

"This game is over." Jared stated.

Shawn takes a swing with his free hand. Jared dodges the attack and thrusts his knee into Shawn's gut. He twists Shawn's hand behind him, forces him away from the control panel and slams him against the wall. Shawn falls to the floor.

"My father's going to be pissed when he hears about this!" Shawn yelled as he stands and spits blood from his mouth. Jared chuckles evilly. "What's so funny?"

"The biggest mistake your father ever made was seeking me out." Jared said. "I have my own agenda in mind. And that agenda doesn't include you."

Shawn takes out a knife concealed at his waist.

"Come on!" Shawn motions for him to try to attack.

Jared grins sinisterly and advances forward.

In the area with the stopped buzz saws, Jamie, McGee and Maddie are all scared. They're still pinned to the wall by means of the jaw-like traps. But there's now no danger of losing a limb or anything for that matter. Other than being scared, they're also confused as to why the saws are off.

"Why did they stop?" McGee asked even though he doesn't particularly care, just as long as they remain that way.

"This doesn't make sense." Jamie said.

"I need to get out of here." Maddie cried hysterically. She tries to open the jaw-like trap from her arm but it doesn't budge.

"Maddie, you need to calm dow…" Jamie begins to say.

"I am calm!" Maddie barked. She continues to cry and struggle to break free.

Jamie knows her friend didn't mean it to yell at her. The entire situation has been rough on all of them.

Meanwhile, in the control/observation room, Shawn slams into a cabinet after being thrown. The confidently angry Jared quickly grabs the man and pounds him in the gut a couple times. Then he thrusts his elbow into Shawn's face. Shawn falls to the floor in a bloody mess.

Jared walks to the side and grabs the knife from the floor in front of the control panel. His eye catches Jamie in the monitor still trapped against the wall. Jamie being alive is a relief for him. But seeing her injured almost makes his heart break for some reason. He guesses she means more to him than he previously thought.

With Jared distracted, Shawn grabs a pipe from nearby. He stands up and advances.

Jared turns, knocks the pipe to the side and jabs the knife into Shawn's abdomen.

"Agh!" Shawn cried in pain.

Jared looks directly into Shawn's eyes. The sheer anger in Jared's eyes sends a shiver down Shawn's spine.

Shawn tries to punch his attacker. Jared grabs his arm, twists it behind him and stabs Shawn in the back. With the little strength he's able to muster up, Shawn turns and swings the pipe. Jared ducks below the attack and thrusts his hand upward. The knife penetrates up into Shawn's brain from under his jaw.

The satisfaction of seeing no life in the eyes of his victim excites his passion of revenge for his niece. Jared lets go and allows the dead body of Shawn Benson to drop to the floor.

Jared rushes to the control panel. He turns the microphone on and presses a button to the release the jaw-like traps.

"You're free to go." Jared said, but is heard as the voice of the creepy carnival puppet. From the control/observation room, he can see their confusion in the monitor. "The game is over. All traps are disabled. You're free to leave." There's a brief pause. "In the next room I've opened a secret door on the left side. It'll lead you to the exit."

Jared turns the microphone off.

Back at NCIS Headquarters, Tony awaits for any sign of where his beloved wife is. The elevator door opens. He looks up in the hopes Jamie will enter into his line of sight. But it's Gibbs. Tony continues making his frantic phone-calls.

"You got anything?" Tony asked hopefully as Gibbs enters into the bullpen. He gets no response. "I thought so."

"We'll find them both, Tony." Gibbs assures him.

Suddenly, one of Jamie's GPS trackers comes online. It's the one embedded under her skin but has been jammed for hours.

Tony drops the phone. He's frozen at the sight of the GPS tracker on his screen. It's the first lead they've had all night. Gibbs, Tony and Ziva rush to the car. In order to keep tabs on the GPS tracker's location, Abby remains behind at NCIS Headquarters.

At the facility, Jamie, McGee and Maddie exit. The chirping of crickets and hooting of owls is a much welcomed sound. Jamie leads them away from the facility. She finds them a good spot to hide in the woods.

Jamie walks off in order to find help or possibly a phone. After a couple minutes of walking, she bumps into her uncle Jared. Her eyes widen. Even though one eye is covered, in that split second, Jared could see the fear in her left eye; fear of him.

"You bastard!" Jamie decks her uncle with her left hand. His face whips to the side. The attack causes her left side to hurt due to the pain of the arrow so she stumbles to the ground.

"Let me see." Jared said in concern as he tries to help her.

"Don't touch me!" Jamie immediately smacks him.

"Jamie, I had nothing to do with this. I swear."

"Bullshit you didn't!" Jamie barked. "You just happen to miraculously know where I am." There's a brief pause. "I can't believe you did this to me. I was stupid to think I could help you."

"Jamie, I swear I…"

"I don't care for your manipulative excuses. Just leave me alone." Jamie whimpered. "The next time you come near me, I'm calling the police and my father."

"Jamie, I…"

"Get away from me you psychotic creep!"

The wateriness of Jamie's left eye leaves Jared speechless. He's never known how it feels to feel hurt. But his niece's pain and rejection of him cause a feeling of sadness that he's never felt before.

"Here's the key to the contraptions on your heads." Jared drops the key next to Jamie who is sitting on the ground.

Jamie reaches for the key on the ground. She unlocks the contraption on her head and takes it off. Having the contraption off allows more blood to flow from her head wound. The head wound concerns Jared, but he does nothing. She places her hand against the wound to apply enough pressure to it. Then Jamie looks up at her uncle.

"I hate you." Jamie said. "Now leave me alone." She looks away as she feels he deserves no more from her.

Jared hangs his head as if it's too heavy from sadness to even lift. He turns around and walks away in order to leave the scene.

Time passes.

Gibbs and Tony arrive at the facility. They arrive with help; paramedics, state police and agents, both NCIS and FBI. Jamie, McGee and Maddie are officially safe. The paramedics rush the three of them to the nearest hospital in order to treat their injuries.

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**Author's Note:** There's one more chapter left to this story. The last chapter is probably the most important chapter due to what I have planned. So stick around for it.


	10. Chapter 10

***Chapter 10***

After leaving the facility, Jared Lucas Gibbs arrives at Geoffrey Benson's mansion. He enters into the mansion through the back.

Geoffrey Benson is sitting in his office reviewing construction plans to expand his Pharmaceutical Company. The plan calls for a high-tech expansion for the research division.

"Still working on that expansion, I see." Jared stated as he enters from the side door.

"The city's zoning department seems to like causing a problem with everything I do. Good thing money shuts them up." Mr. Benson said. "The expansion will begin next week."

"I'm overly excited for you." Jared said sarcastically.

"I'm busy. So what do you want?"

"I was looking forward to using my new facility." Jared started as he walks behind Mr. Benson and toward the window. "But you allowed your son to give it the first test run."

"Our deal never specified who gets to use the facility first."

"True, but now the facility is crawling with cops."

"Did they capture my son?" Mr. Benson asked as he continues to work.

Jared approaches Mr. Benson from behind. He quickly grabs him in a choke hold. Mr. Benson tries to hit the security button but Jared pulls the chair away from the desk.

"I killed your son." Jared whispered in Mr. Benson's ear. "It was invigorating to watch the life drain from his body as I stabbed him. And his warm blood was a soothing sight to see as it poured out from his lifeless body."

"You son-of-a…" Mr. Benson tried to say but the choke hold prevents him from finishing.

"I have a secret to tell you, Geoffrey." Jared said. "I also killed Wade too. I killed both of your sons." He chuckles evilly as Mr. Benson tries to fight. "You're pathetic, Geoffrey. A weak, pathetic old fool who thought I could be controlled. I'm far from being controlled, Geoffrey. You see, I've been playing you for a fool since day one."

"Wha…"

"What's that, Geoffrey? You'll have to speak up." Jared said. "I know a man like you has unlimited resources and is most likely involved some really funky shit. But what I found out is far better than I ever expected of you. Our deal changed the moment I discovered your plan about the genetically altered virus. That little bugger is a piece of work, Geoffrey. You should be proud of it. It'll kill millions of people. But you won't see a dime of the money it would've made you. Cause the business plan you had for the virus will never happen. You want to know why, Geoffrey?"

Mr. Benson continues struggling to break free of Jared's hold. But Jared is far too strong and has the advantage of his position behind the chair.

"Selling a genetically altered virus to Al-Qaeda so they can use it against us isn't very patriotic of you, Geoffrey." Jared said. "As Pharmaceutical companies race to find a cure, you'll be the first to announce it. And the government would pay you billions to mass produce it. I must admit it's a brilliant plan, Geoffrey. But your plan doesn't fit my agenda. I'm going to destroy your cure… Destroy every piece of research on both the virus and the cure… Kill your scientists and researchers… Steal your virus when it's complete… And release it. How do you like that plan, Geoffrey? I think it's a major improvement over yours."

There's a brief moment of silence as Mr. Benson cannot believe what he's hearing. He realizes he made a terrible mistake and that Jared Lucas Gibbs is insane.

"I wasn't planning on killing you until later but you really pissed me off, Geoffrey." Jared said angrily. "Your son testing the facility with my niece was a big mistake. Maybe I'm a little soft when it comes to Jamie, but now she hates me. I had nothing to do with what happened. I didn't even know she was missing until my brother stopped by earlier. She wouldn't even let me explain how I knew where she was." There's a brief pause. "No one hurts my niece and gets away with it, Geoffrey."

In one quick thrust of a considerable amount of force, Jared snaps Mr. Benson's neck.

***A Couple Days Later***

***Friday***

Gibbs is sitting at his desk working and drinking a cup of coffee. It's a slow day since McGee is home due to his injuries. And Tony is off in order to take care of Jamie who is also home with injuries. The only other person in the bullpen is Ziva.

The elevator door opens. A woman steps off and walks in the direction of the bullpen.

"Special Agent Gibbs?" The woman wondered as she approaches. "Hi, I'm Sarah McGee. Tim's sister." They shake hands.

"What can I do for you?" Gibbs asked.

"I had to stop by on my way to pick-up my brother's pain medication." She reaches into her bag. "This is my brother's report about the incident." She hands the envelope with the report in it to Gibbs. "This one is a letter address to you." She hands him an envelope addressed to him. "And this is my brother's letter of resignation." She hands him the final envelope which includes her brother's badge. "His badge is also in there."

Ziva looks up in concern as she didn't think McGee would resign. It's a shock for both Ziva and Gibbs, but from Sarah's body language, Gibbs already knew before she said it.

"My brother asked me to give you those and to pick-up his personal belongings." Sarah McGee said.

"Ziva…" Gibbs tries to get her attention.

"Yeah…?"

"Help Sarah gather her brother's things."

Ziva leaves her desk. She and Sarah go to McGee's desk. They start gathering his personal belongings.

Gibbs sits down as the two of them clear McGee's clear of any and all personal belongings. For a couple seconds, he stares at the envelope address to him. He finally opens it. Gibbs begins to read the letter.

***Start McGee's letter***

Dear Gibbs,

I've started this letter countless times. The words just don't seem to come out right. I didn't think trying to explain my decision to resign from NCIS would be so difficult. But I realize I don't have to give you an explanation. Deep down inside, you already know the answer.

I appreciate the opportunity you gave me. I learned a lot from you. But I can't do this anymore. There comes a time in every man's life when he must reevaluate where his life is going. I've come to realize that there is no longer a place in my life for NCIS.

It was a great experience working with you, the team and NCIS. I'll never forget any of it or any of you for that matter. But resigning is something I have to do.

I wish you the best of luck, Gibbs.

Sincerely,

Timothy McGee

***End McGee's Letter***

Gibbs closes the letter only to see Sarah McGee is gone and McGee's desk empty. As he looks across the way at the empty desk, Gibbs thinks. A valued member of his team is gone; resigned from NCIS. All Gibbs can think is that he'll miss McGee and that no one could ever replace him as both an agent and a friend.

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**THE END**

This concludes the story "Saw". Coming soon will be the next story in this series. But until then, I hope you enjoyed this story.


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